Manama: Qatar’s decision to recall two different types of a popular shampoo has confused retailers who say they were not directly notified by the authorities.

Long-time users of the shampoo said they were worried about the damage the product might have inflicted. They are reportedly upset that the official authorities did not make the findings of the test public immediately after they were known on Thursday.

“They waited because it was the weekend and the findings about the danger of using the shampoo were revealed only on Saturday evening. They should have told the newspapers immediately,” a consumer who’s been using the brand of shampoo for seven years said, quoted by Qatari daily The Peninsula.

Many shops continued to sell the product on Sunday as they were unaware of a recall order, the paper said. However, the major supermarkets had taken them off the shelves by the afternoon.

The warning by the environment and health authorities that an excessive amount of the hazardous 1,4 dioxane could cause cancer and skin disease created considerable concern among long-time users of the brand.

Qatar’s expert panel, which issued the recall order late on Saturday, said the compound 1,4 dioxane was found to be above 10 parts per million (ppm) in two variants of the shampoo brand. The compound in excess could cause cancer and other skin diseases, it added.

The ban has kicked-off a serious online debate.

“I just took a shower using shampoo and came out of the bathroom to see the report that the shampoo was banned. I have been using it for many years,” said a posting on a popular social networking site.

When contacted by The Peninsula, the manufacturers in Saudi Arabia said they or their distributors had not been contacted by the authorities to tell them of the recall decision. “They had contacted us about three weeks ago about their intention to put our products to test and we suggested our reputed third party laboratory for the purpose. We have not heard from them afterwards, a top official Proctor & Gamble said.

A high-level delegation from the cosmetic company is making a trip to Qatar to discuss the matter with Qatari authorities. The company claims their products are safe. “Let us make it very clear that our products are safe.

The levels of 1,4 dioxane are below safe levels set out by regulatory bodies around the world. In fact, 1,4 dioxane is found at trace levels in common foods, drinking water and in the air we breathe,” Yassin Alattas, Procter & Gamble External Relations Director of the Middle East & Pakistan region, said, in the Qatari Daily. “Procter & Gamble has been serving consumers in the Middle East since 1956 and we are continuously striving to provide consumers with products and services of superior quality and value that help improve the health, hygiene and environment of people all over the world.

“The company is prepared to test the samples at any internationally accredited labs to prove its quality standards. For us, it has always been about our consumers and maintaining their trust. There is a lot of misinformation and confusion around the 1,4 dioxane issue. Our goal is to do whatever we can to be sure our consumers understand the facts around 1,4 dioxane and know that they can trust our products,” Alattas said. The team’s decision to recall two types of the shampoo follows a decision to recall four other shampoo brands earlier this month.